
Mindy Weisberger
Mindy Weisberger is an editor at Scholastic and a former Live Science channel editor and senior writer. She has reported on general science, covering climate change, paleontology, biology and space. Mindy studied film at Columbia University; prior to Live Science she produced, wrote and directed media for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Her videos about dinosaurs, astrophysics, biodiversity and evolution appear in museums and science centers worldwide, earning awards such as the CINE Golden Eagle and the Communicator Award of Excellence. Her writing has also appeared in Scientific American, The Washington Post and How It Works Magazine. She is the author of the book "Rise of the Zombie Bugs: The Surprising Science of Parasitic Mind Control," published by Hopkins Press.
Latest articles by Mindy Weisberger

Bizarre aye-ayes use spooky, bony finger for nose picking
By Mindy Weisberger published
A new study in aye-ayes is the first to review nose picking in primates and reports the first evidence of the habit in lemurs.

King Tut's father revealed in stunning facial reconstruction
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
An astonishingly lifelike facial reconstruction reveals the face of an enigmatic mummy who may have been the biological father of the renowned pharaoh Tutankhamen.

Mosquito larvae launch their heads like tiny harpoons to nab prey, video reveals
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Researchers have captured the first-ever footage of mosquito larvae flinging their heads at prey in deadly hunting strikes.

8 Reasons Why We Love Tardigrades
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Whether you know them as water bears or moss piglets, tardigrades are microscopic bundles of awesomeness.

30-Year Deep Freeze Just Puts Tardigrade in the Mood
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Two tardigrades and one egg that spent the past three decades cooling their jets in a researchers' freezer were recently resuscitated.

Key to Tardigrades' 'Superpowers' Identified in Their DNA
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
A tardigrade's unique genetic makeup fuels the creature's remarkable resuscitation superpowers.

If We Live in a Multiverse, Where Are These Worlds Hiding?
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
What is the scientific basis for the popular science-fiction convention of multiple universes?

Everybody Freeze! The Science of the Polar Bear Club
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
On New Year's Day on Brooklyn, New York's Coney Island beach, the sound of chattering teeth will fill the air, as thousands of people gather for a ceremonial wintry dip in the Atlantic Ocean.

Ancient and bizarre 'innovation crab' from China had eyes on stalks, spike-studded arms and a tail full of 'blades'
By Mindy Weisberger published
A bizarre fossil from China's Chengjiang Lagerstätte site hints at early diversity in a group of Cambrian marine arthropods called radiodonts.

Octopuses Are Surprisingly Social — and Confrontational, Scientists Find
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
A new study reveals that octopuses frequently communicate with each other in challenging displays that include posturing and changing color.

50 million tons of water vapor from Tonga's eruption could warm Earth for years
By Mindy Weisberger published
The explosive Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic event spewed so much moisture that it increased the global average of atmospheric water vapor by 5%.

Why dog breeds look so very different, but cats don't
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Why don't pedigreed cats show the extremes in body size and shape that dog breeds do?

9 million told to evacuate after super typhoon Nanmadol slams southern Japan, heads toward Tokyo
By Mindy Weisberger published
Tens of thousands of people in Japan have already sought shelter from powerful storm Nanmadol, which could be the most destructive in decades.

You can't hide from your cat, so don't even try
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Cats create "mental maps" using audio cues, scientists have discovered. This enables cats to spatially orient unseen companions, an ability that was previously unknown in felines.

Rare Florida snake found dead after choking on a giant centipede
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
The rim rock crowned snake is the rarest snake in North America. And now there's one less, after a snake was found dead with a centipede stuck in its throat.

Does Catnip Really Make Cats 'High'?
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Cats that have an extreme response to catnip may look like they're experiencing euphoria.

Deformed 'alien' skulls offer clues about life during the Roman Empire’s collapse
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
By studying artificially deformed skulls from a graveyard dating to more than 1,000 years ago, archaeologists are piecing together clues about an ancient community's culture.

Why is chocolate bad for dogs?
By Remy Melina, Mindy Weisberger last updated
Is it really that bad to give a dog a bite of a chocolate bar? Live Science investigates just how much chocolate is lethal to dogs.

Found: First Tibetan Evidence of Neanderthal Cousins, the Denisovans
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
This is the first evidence of Denisovans living on the Tibetan Plateau.

Loss of smell could be a symptom of COVID-19
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Doctors are advising adding loss of smell to the list of symptoms for COVID-19.

NASA is counting down to the 'wet dress rehearsal' for its 'Mega Moon Rocket'
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Critical prelaunch tests for the Artemis I moon mission, known as a "wet dress rehearsal," are scheduled to begin on April 1 and continue through April 4.

NASA's Artemis moon rocket just rode a 'supertank' to the launch pad
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Inch by inch, NASA's Artemis I spacecraft and rocket have finally chugged all the way to the launch pad. The mission's "wet dress rehearsal" will take place on April 1.

Stacked 'Mega Moon rocket' is ready to roll, NASA says
By Mindy Weisberger last updated
Lunar mission Artemis I is about to roll closer to getting a launch date, after the mega rocket and spacecraft roll to the launchpad for tests.
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